Using misperceived social norms as a license: does pluralistic ignorance trigger complacency in the food environment?

ABSTRACT

The current food environment strongly communicates the normality of consuming unhealthy and unsustainable food products. However, it is unclear whether people truly support this unhealthy and unsustainable social norm, or that they follow the norm (reluctantly) because they believe that other people agree with it, a phenomenon that is generally known as pluralistic ignorance. While previous research has documented the existence of pluralistic ignorance in a variety of settings, it is unknown to what extent it directly influences behavior and which mechanism may account for this influence. The present study examines whether the perception that others seem to agree with unhealthy and unsustainable eating norms acts as a license to not change one’s eating behavior and leads to complacency. We assessed pluralistic ignorance by comparing self- and other-scores on the importance, frequency, normalcy, and intentions dimensions of consuming healthy and sustainable food in a large sample of Dutch participants (N = 415). To investigate the effect of pluralistic ignorance on self-licensing and complacency, we calculated healthy and sustainable ‘misperception scores’ per dimension. Healthy eating misperceptions only marginally predicted self-licensing, but healthy misperceived intentions did predict an increase in complacency. Sustainable eating misperceptions seem more influential because misperceptions on importance and frequency predicted an increase in self-licensing, and sustainable misperceived normalcy predicted a decrease in complacency and intentions predicted an increase in complacency. These findings suggest that pluralistic ignorance may be more influential in sustainable eating since people could be uncertain what appropriate sustainable food choices are. Prospects for future research and suggestions to address pluralistic ignorance to potentially increase healthy and sustainable food choices are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• pluralistic ignorance
• social norms
• food choices
• food environment
• self-licensing, complacency

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the study design. RM oversaw the data-collection and carried out the data analysis. RM drafted the manuscript and DdR, and MG provided critical feedback. They collectively approved submitting the manuscript.

Ethical statement

The study was approved by the Ethics Review Board of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences and filed under number 22–0242.

Availability of data and materials

The research data and materials are publicly available on OSF via the following link: https://osf.io/kpxrh/?view_only=2c70d0c06ff24e4384b992bf2afc5564

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510.2023.2251643

Notes

1. The Foodvalley region is a collaboration of several municipalities, educational institutions and local entrepreneurs within the Netherlands.

2. Healthy products were described as, ‘According to the food pyramid (Dutch: schijf van vijf): plenty of fruits and vegetables, mainly wholegrain products, less (red) meat, spreading and cooking fats and drinks (tea, tap water, coffee)’ Sustainable products were described as follows, ‘Mainly plant-based products and locally produced.’

Additional information

Funding

The data collection was funded by the Regio Deal Foodvalley (grant nr 162135). A collaboration between the Dutch government and the Foodvalley region to stimulate more healthy and sustainable food choices among Dutch citizens.